Vltava Waterway

The concept is based on a unified architectural and design language for the entire waterway. It is reflected in the railings, mast lights, fencing, communication equipment, marina facilities and other elements of the transport infrastructure.

The control rooms of the individual locks also share a common expression. The technical structures are thus not created as isolated objects but as part of a single legible system that is repeated along the entire route and gives the waterway its own identity.

The lock control rooms at České Vrbné, Hluboká nad Vltavou and Hněvkovice share a unified architectural form. The austere metal-clad blocks are complemented by a delicate layer of coloured membranes that visually softens their technical character. Its shape evokes taut sails or a rippling water surface and creates a contrast with the precise geometry of the buildings.

The design is founded on a sensitive relationship with the landscape and on the conviction that even purely technical infrastructure can be a contextual and refined part of its surroundings.

The sports harbour makes use of a natural meander of the Vltava and preserves its original shape to the greatest possible extent. The works focused mainly on dredging sediment, partial adjustments to the banks and the insertion of new harbour infrastructure. The harbour consists of two interconnected basins for small and design vessels, complemented mainly by timber jetties on steel piles, footbridges and a slipway.

A prominent feature of the site is the entrance structure with a lift bridge. The scheme also includes a berth for passenger boats on the left bank of the river above the harbour entrance. Mature greenery along the banks and on the island helps preserve the natural character of the place and integrate the new technical elements into the existing landscape.

Unlike Hluboká nad Vltavou, the marina at České Vrbné was created as an entirely new body of water excavated alongside the Vltava. Its perimeter is lined with fixed stone-paved quays, and the operational facilities include a launching ramp with space for a crane and a fuelling station.

The marina is connected to the main waterway by a lift bridge, the first of its kind in the Czech Republic. Here, the technical solution is also part of the architectural expression and contributes to the identity of the whole site.

The marina includes a harbour master's office with an information and service centre. The simple, compact volume of the building is complemented by slender footbridges and shading structures. The block, clad in stone on three sides, opens towards the harbour with a strongly articulated façade, while on the Vltava side it is partly sunk into an earth embankment that also forms the riverbank.

The harbour master's office thus combines technical and operational facilities with the architectural expression of the entire waterway. Both the marina at České Vrbné and the sports harbour at Hluboká nad Vltavou are also connected to local roads and the cycle route along the river, making them a natural part of the wider recreational and transport network.

The architectural study of the harbour infrastructure at Kamýk nad Vltavou follows on from a previous feasibility study and responds above all to the demanding conditions of an active flood zone. The operations building is therefore placed as far from the river as possible, and its main spaces are raised above the Q100 hundred-year flood level. The volume of the first floor cantilevers prominently over the more slender ground floor, creating a distinctive silhouette in keeping with the technical character of the harbour.

A striking feature is the access staircase inspired by harbour gangways, which is connected to the building by a footbridge, much like boarding a ship. The facilities are divided vertically and in plan between the harbour master's office, sanitary facilities for visitors and a Police of the Czech Republic station. Step-free access is provided by a lift designed with possible flood loading in mind. The architecture thus derives directly from the operational, technical and water management conditions of the site and translates them into a clearly legible form.